A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews and favourites! This chapter is set after the Western Air Temple, when Zuko has joined the Gaang. I meant to have this up sooner, but I've had so much work to do recently. Thank you for being so patient!
Summary: "No matter how many deaths that I die, I will never forget. No matter how many lives that I live I will never forget. There's a fire inside this heart and a riot about to explode into flames." Sequel to 'A Beautiful Lie' in which Jet survived. Goes from the Fall of Ba Sing Se up until the end of Sozin's Comet, spoiler warning.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Hurricane
Chapter 9
"You can take him some food! You cooked it!" Sokka protested, shoving the bowl back towards Katara. "I don't see why I have to be the one to make sure the guy who chased us all over the world and tried to kill us is fine! I can't even bend!"
"So?" Katara asked. "You're always bragging that you're a great warrior – I'm sure you'll be able to handle it if he decides to attack you."
"You're a waterbender, he's a firebender." Sokka hissed. "I'm sure you stand a better chance of survival!"
"He's not okay, you know." Toph said.
"What?" Both Sokka and Katara asked, turning to face the blind earthbender.
"Zuko – he's really upset about something. He hasn't been eating regularly – he keeps 'forgetting' to come down for dinner and he either spends all of his time meditating or wandering around the temple alone." Toph explained. "Sometimes I really wonder –"
"– Whether you're really the blind one around here." Sokka rolled his eyes. "We know, Toph. It's just... Zuko has never really been Mr 'Sunshine and Rainbows', so there wasn't really anything different to notice."
"So, if he's upset about something different it proves you should take him his food." Katara concluded, shoving the bowl into Sokka's hands. "You're a teenage boy, he's a teenage boy. I'm sure you'll both be able to find some sort of common ground. Good luck."
"... Sometimes I hate you." Sokka grumbled, heading away from the main camp. They had originally started off with separate rooms at the Air Temple, but eventually everyone had moved down to one of the plazas where they had set up the camp fire and Appa slept. Zuko was now the only one who slept in one of the temple rooms, mainly due to the fact he liked his privacy and everyone was still wary of him – he was the Prince of the Fire Nation after all, and had been considered their enemy for so long.
Zuko was sat cross-legged in the middle of his room, surrounded by candles. Sokka guessed that he was meditating, due to the fact it was dusk – he always meditated at dawn and dusk regardless of anything else that was happening. He opened his eyes when Sokka stopped in the doorway but said nothing, waiting for the other to explain his presence.
"I – uh – brought you some food." Sokka said, holding up the steaming bowl of rice. "You didn't come down for dinner again."
"No-one told me dinner was ready." Zuko said, uncrossing his legs and stretching.
"I know you're lying because I knocked on the door about an hour ago and told you." Sokka said, walking over to Zuko and holding the bowl out to him. "It's okay if you don't like my sister's cooking – it sure took a while to get used to."
Zuko didn't even smile at Sokka's joke as he took the bowl of food from him. "Thank you."
Sokka stood awkwardly in the centre of the room for a few minutes – he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Toph had heavily implied that someone talk to him, but Sokka wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say.
"You don't have to watch me eat." Zuko said without looking up from his bowl.
"Is everything okay?" Sokka asked. "With you, I mean – you've just – you don't really seem very happy here, and I know it might be because you had to leave everything behind and whatever, but... you're not eating either. You keep 'forgetting' to."
"I'm fine." Zuko replied. "Really, I am. You don't have to worry about me – we have plenty of other things to focus on." The only thing I'm worried about is what's going to happen to Jet.
xXx
"You all know why you are here." A Fire Nation General said, pacing up and down in front of the crowd before him. "You are here because you were part of an invasion against the Fire Nation. You are here because you attempted to overthrow Fire Lord Ozai and you will be punished for your crimes. You are here because..."
Jet glanced around the plaza – there weren't as many war prisoners as he thought there would be, considering there was a whole invasion. He couldn't even see anyone he recognised, which was probably a good thing. It meant that the Avatar had got away or had been killed, with got away being the most likely option. If the Avatar had been killed then the celebrations would still be happening.
The next thing Jet knew was that the crowd was moving and he was being pushed towards the prison block entrance. He had to keep moving with the crowd to avoid being crushed, but he was already scanning the surroundings for potential escape routes – he had only just got out of prison and he wasn't planning on being back for long. He had to go and find Zuko anyway.
He was then aware of someone calling his name and he turned around and found himself face-to-face with Pipsqueak.
"Pipsqueak?" Jet asked in surprise as the large man pulled him into a bear hug and lifted him off the ground. "What the – what the hell are you doing here?"
Pipsqueak set Jet back down on the ground. "I could ask you the same thing. I didn't see you in the invasion."
"You were part of the invasion force?" Jet asked in awe. "Fuck, a lot changed since we left the forest – you have to tell me everything... you have to tell me what happened to the others. I have to tell you what happened to the others."
"A Fire Nation prison isn't exactly the best place for having a catch-up." Pipsqueak said. "But I suppose we'll have to try and find some time together – I doubt it'll be as relaxed here as the Fire Nation prisons in the Earth Kingdom."
"None of that matters." Jet said. "I'm not planning on staying for long."
"Do you have a plan?"
"Not yet." Jet said, lowering his voice. "But I will soon."
xXx
"The Boiling Rock holds the Fire Nation's most dangerous criminals." Azula explained, sat beside her father at the war council. "I suggest that we send the leader of the invasion force there along with any serious defectors, such as the Earth Kingdom rebel who aided the escape of Prince Zuko."
"Why would we send the rebel to the Boiling Rock, Azula?" Ozai asked. "He has caused us enough problems and is clearly an ally of your brother. Why shouldn't we have him executed? Why can't we use him as an example?"
"Because we can use him as bait." Azula answered.
Ozai raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Zuko knows about the Boiling Rock." Azula went on to say. "He knows what happens to enemies of the Fire Nation, and he clearly cares for this rebel in some way – he tried to spring him from prison before. Who's to say he won't try to do the same again?"
"Are you saying we should set a trap for him?"
"Yes." Azula said.
xXx
"I spoke to him – he said he's fine. Problem solved." Sokka said, dropping to his knees beside his sleeping bag to unfold it before he turned in for the night.
Katara looked up from where she was washing up the food bowls with Aang, using some sort of waterbending technique. "And?"
"He said he's fine." Sokka shrugged, crawling into his sleeping bag. "I took his word for it – it's not like we're best friends, Katara. From what I've seen when he was chasing us around the world and trying to kill us this is his normal mood."
"I'm not expecting you to be best friends." Katara bristled.
"Are you guys talking about Zuko?" Aang asked, looking from Sokka's silhouette beside the campfire to Katara.
"Toph thinks that he's upset by something." Katara explained.
Aang nodded. "He does seem rather down."
"Maybe it's because you're waking him up at the crack of dawn to go on an expedition to some ancient Sun Warrior ruins to fix his firebending." Sokka called. "I know I would be pretty down if that was happening to me."
"Sokka, he's a firebender." Katara sighed. "He wakes up at the crack of dawn every day."
"Sucks to be him." Sokka grumbled.
xXx
"That's Hakoda, the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe." Pipsqueak said, gesturing to a man standing across the room from them who held hints of familiarity for Jet. "He was the leader of the invasion force, though his son came up with the plan – you remember Sokka and Katara, don't you? The Water Tribe siblings who were travelling with the Avatar? Sokka's the one who came up with the invasion plan."
"Sokka came up with the invasion plan?"
"Yes."
"Shit, I knew I should've got him on my side before." Jet said, with a ghost of his old, cocky – and slightly psychotic – smirk on his face. "This plan would've been way more effective than blowing up a dam."
"We wouldn't have been able to go through with it." Pipsqueak said, shaking his head.
"Why not?"
"Because you don't listen to other people." Pipsqueak said. "Didn't the dam prove that to you?"
"... You know me too well." Jet said, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms. "This prison isn't exactly high security, is it? The soldiers are letting us all mingle."
"I don't think they have enough cells to hold everyone." Pipsqueak said.
"Aren't they scared of riots?" Jet asked, smirking.
"Jet, we are not starting a prison riot."
"Why not?" Jet asked. "Do you have any other ideas of how we're going to escape from this place?"
Pipsqueak didn't get a chance to answer, as a group of Fire Nation prison guards walked into the cell block.
"Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe," One of the guards said. "You're expected to come with us right now, along with the Earth Kingdom rebel who aided the escape of the traitor Prince Zuko. The Fire Lord requests your presence."
Hakoda muttered something to the man standing next to him and stepped forwards, as did Jet.
Pipsqueak was stunned. "You mean... you helped the Prince of the Fire Nation escape?"
"I'll explain everything when I come back." Jet said, walking away from Pipsqueak. If I come back. Something told him that his appointment with the Fire Lord wasn't going to be an occasion to be celebrated.
A/N: Short chapter, I know, but for some reason this one was really had to write. I've had several different versions, but I haven't been happy with any of them so I'm uploading this one. I think it may have been difficult because it was pretty much a filler chapter – fitting Jet into the A:TLA canon in Book Three is quite challenging in some aspects. I have no idea when the next chapter is going to be up, but I will try to get it all written as soon as possible.
Any comments or feedback are appreciated.